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Archive Home2008 Archive2007 Archives2006 Archives2005 Archives2004 Archives2002 ArchivesRIAA Statistics Don't Add Up to Piracy Fiction |
Time for Musicians to Step Up the FightJanuary 3, 2008 -- The RIAA tries to pretend that everything they don't own doesn't exist, even as they continue to reduce their output. Indie musicians can turn this to our advantage. Right now, the door is open for us to take everything the RIAA has and make legal recordings to replace the illegal ones they keep making. (Read More) Kick-Starting the New YearJanuary 9, 2008 -- Last week, I said indies should record some cover songs. Then I went to Tucson and spent the next two nights doing exactly that with The Hurricane. A few more days getting the ADAT tracks into ProTools, and the first finished tune has appeared, with another 20 or so in the pipeline. Here's the handy listening guide for the tracks as they appear, as well as some amusing stories from the weekend. (Read More) Catching Up on Latest LunacyJanuary 18, 2008 -- I'm finding a benefit in being too busy to write every day. As the noteworthy things I haven't written about pile up, it forces a wider perspective. So... this week, we've got Tanya Andersen, the continuing saga of fail at EMI, the merciless rape and pillaging of MediaDefender, a dumbass debate on DRM, plus the usual collection of idiots, all seasoned with a healthy dose of sarcasm. (Read More) Industry Still Can't Buy a ClueJanuary 26, 2008 -- A couple of months ago, we heard a lot of hubbub about how it was time for the music business to change, some it actually coming from the labels themselves. Of course, expecting the people who screwed everything up to fix it is like calling a blind interior decorator to spruce up your living room. (Read More) QTrax Fumbles on the KickoffJanuary 28, 2008 -- Early this morning, the big music news was that a company called QTrax had "announced deals with all the major music labels and publishers to offer the first free and legal ad-supported P2P service to include major label music." Good story, except the part about deals with all the major labels turns out to be bullshit. And it gets worse from there. (Read More) Urgent Messages from the MentalsJanuary 29, 2008 -- RIAA acknowledges existence of the other 3 million of us. ASCAP reminds us that war is peace and the RIAA has always been the enemy. Writers Guild gives the Grammys a waiver. U2's manager whines about the Internet. Ah, I love the smell of stupid in the morning. Somehow makes the day worth living. (Read More) RIAA Says Songwriters OverpaidFebruary 4, 2008 -- On Friday, the RIAA pitched their long-running sob story to the California State Legislature, voicing their concern for "the songwriters who pen the music and lyrics; the background musicians who perform it; the engineers who texture, layer and refine it; the artists who make it soar"? Meanwhile, on the East Coast, they are arguing that songwriters and publishers are ruining the music business. (Read More) Perspective MattersFebruary 10, 2008 -- Today's collection of topics includes the magic filter that the RIAA wants to install in your PC, the DOJ's interest in the labels' newest joint venture, the current dearth of songwriters, Neil Young's observation that music has lost its power to change the world, Sweden performers' group asks for legalization of file sharing, and whatever else that comes to mind before I get to the end. (Read More) Friday's Short Attention Span TheatreFebruary 15, 2008 -- In an e-mail exchange with someone who was interested in my opinion on a few things, a question was asked that made me pinpoint the reason why I stopped buying music. The funny thing about it is that, when you get down to the core, it has everything to do with copyright, predates Napster, and has nothing at all to do with the RIAA. (Read More) Before the Music Dies a Must-SeeFebruary 27, 2008 -- Last week, I said we needed to see Before the Music Dies, a documentary about the music business. Now that I've actually seen it (the film is currently running on IFC), and even though it's two years old, I'd like to upgrade my recommendation from "need to see" to "don't talk to me about music until you've seen it." (Read More) Music and RiskMarch 7, 2008 -- There's a recurring theme (I think they're called "memes" now) that there is some sort of risk involved in creating music. Today alone, I encountered "Why should a musician bear the cost and the risk of creating music with no expectation of a return on their investment?" and the equally nonsensical, "Songwriters are shielded from that risk by the fixed nature of the mechanical rate." What risk? (Read More) A P2P Monetization Plan From HellMarch 14, 2008 -- Another major label lapdog has come up with a plan to collect a monthly fee from internet service providers and "put it into a pool that would be used to compensate songwriters, performers, publishers and music labels." It sounds like a good idea on the surface -- if you're a pirate or if you work for a major label. As usual, everyone else gets bent over and told to squeal like a pig. (Read More) Rumor Mill Ramps Up ProductionMarch 20, 2008 -- The music industry has watched sales of its core product evaporate in the 21st century. They spent the last 8 years blaming everyone else and have yet to consider a realistic solution. This year, we already have a full crop of ideas that are, if nothing else, unreliable. (Read More) Let's Get RealMarch 21, 2008 -- The music wars will never end if someone without a vested interest in the outcome, and yet in full possession of all the facts, does not step forward with a logical, realistic plan that acknowledges the needs of the artists and creators, remembering that these are the only persons the copyright laws were allowed to protect, and offers an incentive to all artists to continue to write and play music. (Read More) Warner Music's Money PoolMarch 30, 2008 -- Warner Music just gave some guy a three-year contract to "develop a model that would create a pool of money from user fees." What the rest of us need is a model that would accurately track and report every music download and stream on the Internet. That's not what they're working on. (Read More) Let's Get Real -- The SequelMarch 31, 2008 -- I previously offered two basic principles as a starting point for solving the music wars. Today, I'd like to outline the complete solution, which fully and logically explains why the record labels want to run it, as well as why they should not be allowed to. (Read More) Short Attention Span FridayApril 4, 2008 -- After spending the last couple of weeks on far too serious subjects, it seems like a good time to take a quick look at some of the other things which are going on that caught my eye but I haven't taken time to address. (Read More) Mysteries of the UniverseApril 11, 2008 -- There are many, many things that I simply do not understand and probably never will. Taking an entire orchestra to Italy to pretend to play ranks right up there. (Read More) Vinyl's Big ComebackApril 25, 2008 -- In 2007, there was a lot of discussion in the media about the resurgence of the vinyl format. I suppose this depends on your definition of "resurgence." RIAA Lawsuits Stuck at Square OneMay 3, 2008 -- After 5 years and 40,000 lawsuits, we have not seen any definitive legal answers to the most basic questions involving the individual, non-commercial file sharing on which those lawsuits are based. Since only about 100 people have contested the accusations to date (according to BusinessWeek), it is clearly in the RIAA's best interests to delay legal clarity as long as possible. (Read More) RIAA's 'Tech Unit' Still Wants DRMMay 8, 2008 -- The fact that the RIAA even has a "technical unit" was good for a laugh all by itself. (Read More) No, the RIAA Cannot Take Your HouseMay 14, 2008 -- There's a rumor going around right now involving a bill that passed the US House of Representatives (HR4279) which several sources (some of them otherwise credible) are warning means that if the RIAA finds an "illegal" mp3 on your hard drive, they can take your computer, your house, your dog and naming rights to your first-born male child. Not exactly. (Read More) RIAA's Only Legal Victory in JeopardyMay 15, 2008 -- Remember the RIAA's lawsuit against Jammie Thomas? The only one out of the tens of thousands of cases filed that actually went to trial? The RIAA won that case. Their problem is that the judge figured out that the RIAA scammed him. Now he thinks Jammie Thomas should get a new trial. (Read More) The Evolution of My OpinionMay 22, 2008 -- From time to time, I encounter facts which conflict with my personal Grand Unified Theory of How Everything Doesn't Quite Work Right. Earlier this week, someone set me straight on the legal status of the term "fixed," which I've been harping on lately. Even though I find the court's viewpoint to be ludicrous, it is a fact which cannot be ignored. (Read More) When the Walls Come Tumbling DownJune 4, 2008 -- While politics is generally a snooze-fest, the dissection of the Bush Administration has begun. If you're too young to remember how it went for Nixon, you're going to want to watch this because people go to jail at the end of the story and the plot is a lot easier to follow than Lost. (Read More) Laser Printers Caught DownloadingJune 5, 2008 -- The MPAA has sent DMCA notices to three laser printers, accusing them of downloading "Iron Man" and the current Indiana Jones movie. The laser printers refused to comment. RIAA 'Psychos' Try End Run Around LawJune 17, 2008 -- Step 1 -- Sue someone for "making available." Step 2 -- Drop case before judge can make a ruling. Step 3 -- Re-file same case listing "John Doe" as defendant. Rinse. Repeat. Welcome to Bizarro WorldJune 19, 2008 -- In the comic books of my youth, occasionally Superman would travel to Bizarro World, where nothing made sense, people did the opposite of what was normal behavior, and logic was a handicap. Bizarro Superman once characterized up his job as, "It am not easy." At the time, he was trying to put food on his family and had misunderestimated the effectification of his strategery. It seemed kind of silly back then. Now, I think I live there. (Read More) MPAA Says Evidence Not RequiredJune 20, 2008 -- The MPAA, film's version of the RIAA, has finally crossed the thin grey line separating delusion from complete insanity today, as they suggested to a federal judge that "intellectual-property holders should have the right to collect damages, perhaps as much as $150,000 per copyright violation, without having to prove infringement," according to Wired's Threat Level blog. The money quote comes from their lawyer, who wrote, "Mandating such proof could thus have the pernicious effect of depriving copyright owners of a practical remedy against massive copyright infringement in many instances." Like when they have no evidence at all. Or when they sue the wrong person. Or when they simply start picking people randomly out of the phone book. To even suggest that courts should start handing out $150,000 fines with no evidence required to support the allegations is a more practical remedy than the old "innocent until proven guilty" perspective sounds bat-shiat crazy to me. Clearly, they have departed from the realm of logical thought. RIAA Claims Radio is PiracyJune 23, 2008 -- Once again failing to acknowledge any legal decisions which they do not agree with, the RIAA has decided to bring up the failed argument from 1922 that broadcasting music is some sort of piracy. (Read More) Judge Awards Tanya Andersen $107,834June 26, 2008 -- The RIAA's refusal to admit their mistake in suing Tanya Andersen for copyright infringement (despite a total lack of evidence), has resulted in a judge's decision awarding almost $108,000 to Andersen for attorney's fees. U.S. District Judge James A. Redden of Oregon wrote in his decision that awarding attorney's fees to the prevailing party is "the rule rather than the exception" under the Copyright Act, and such fees "should be awarded routinely." Will this change the RIAA's practice of endless litigation to avoid admitting a mistake? Probably not. But the incentive to demand they try to prove it now has six digits to the left of the decimal point and "should be awarded routinely" if they can't. Considering the success of the RIAA in this endeavor so far, if you receive a subpoena from them, you may have already won $100,000. The details are here. Things That No Longer ExistJune 27, 2008 -- I've got a whole list of things that don't exist, which includes pretty much every artist that the RIAA represents. (Read More) Making Your Own IncentiveJune 29, 2008 -- Last week, I put the music section of the site on "pause" while I tried to figure out something, anything, to solve the problem of how to squeeze a few bucks out of the audience without being all RIAA about it. Realizing that I'm certainly not the only independent musician with this dilemma, I've got an idea that seems easy enough to implement and should work for everyone from the kids down the street to Bruce Springsteen, without involving a record label, plastic discs, selling songs, lying or whining. (Read More) RIAA's Argument Hits the WallJune 30, 2008 -- With the presiding judge having independently decided that the RIAA's only victory was an "error of law," the RIAA counters with "No, it wasn't. And by the way, we don't think we need any evidence, either." (Read More) Eliminating the CompetitionJuly 8, 2008 -- I'm trying to imagine the reaction of Trent Reznor or Thom Yorke the first time their computer tells them that the ability to make a stereo mix has been disabled. Okay, the first thing they'd do is probably laugh. But after that... (Read More) Music and EconomicsJuly 15, 2008 -- Peter Gabriel recently discussed the trend of people embracing music with depressing lyrics, providing the perfect opportunity to examine a paper from 1995 that accurately predicted the current state of the music industry, including the lack of creativity. (Read More) Another Great Music Lie ExposedJuly 23, 2008 -- Every so often, someone throws a free concert in New York's Central Park and hundreds of thousands of people are reported to be in attendance. But you can't quite squeeze 50,000 into Central Park. (Read More) Dead DRM and the DCMAJuly 26, 2008 -- Yahoo is pulling the plug on its DRM server at the end of September. So all the good little boys and girls who were foolish enough to have paid for DRM-infested tracks now have to break the law to keep what they thought they already owned. (Read More) Window of OpportunityAugust 4, 2008 -- Last week, Cory Doctorow explained why the major labels' continued refusal to license for the Internet is suicide, prompting my friend Shmoo to warn that "Licensing would only save the evil recording industry YET AGAIN." It ain't necessarily so. (Read More) Victims Advocate AppearsAugust 22, 2008 -- Someone to add to the list of good guys -- RIVAA, the Recording Industry Victims Aid Association. These guys are just getting started and promise to help 10 lawsuit recipients at a time, with an interesting ethical stance thrown in that I kind of like. "We believe that piracy is an illegal activity and we do not condone it! However, there are many users of programs like Limewire and Kazaa that do not understand that using these applications to download music is piracy. These applications are readily available for use by anyone, and not everyone understands the consequences of using them. RIVAA.org believes that the Recording Industry Association has brought charges against many innocent people. These are the victims that we seek to aid." Afterthought... Of course, downloading music is not theft, so I haven't exactly started a cheering section for them yet. Definitely worth watching what happens with this one. Looking in Pandora's BoxAugust 26, 2008 -- Tim Westergren, founder of the webcasting service Pandora, recently said, "We're approaching a pull-the-plug kind of decision. This is like a last stand for webcasting." I wasn't able to discuss it at the time but it's too important to let pass unmentioned. (Read More) The Independent Retail AdvantageAugust 28, 2008 -- When I wasn't looking, the laws of the universe changed. To put it briefly, the RIAA does not and will not control access to the retail music market in the same manner as they did with physical distribution and radio. In fact, you can make more money without them. (Read More) The Presidentiary ElectificationSeptember 8, 2008 -- We're finally coming into the home stretch of the longest political campaign in history, which seems to have started sometime in 2005. Now that the candidate selection process seems to be almost officially resolved, might as well watch the end of the game, which is already brimming with entertainment value. (Read More) A Bad Idea That Refuses to DieSeptember 9, 2008 -- I was at Wired, trying to find out when the supercollider gets turned on, potentially ripping the space-time continuum and triggering the end of the world, when I found the radio salesman pushing for internet payola, which is much more likely to be something to worry about. (Read More) RIAA September TrifectaSeptember 14, 2008 -- We've got new DRM on the way, the Senate Judiciary Committee wants the Dept. of Justice to pursue civil complaints for the RIAA, and, in what is evidently not an example of the kind of anti-competitive behavior that the DOJ should really be focused on, the RIAA labels now own MySpace. (Read More) RIAA Sues Beckerman For Being AnnoyingSeptember 17, 2008 -- From Wired -- "The Recording Industry Association of America is declaring attorney-blogger Ray Beckerman a 'vexatious' litigator and is seeking unspecified monetary sanctions to punish him in his defense of a New York woman accused of making copyrighted music available on the Kazaa file sharing system." They've filed more than 30,000 cases based on bullshit. Beckerman defends people against the RIAA. Yep, I'd bet the RIAA finds that annoying. Didn't know you could sue people for being annoying, especially when the annoying part is the truth. Vivendi CEO Sees 'Strong Likelihood' of TurnaroundSeptember 20, 2008 -- Vivendi's CEO, Jean Bernard Lévy, says we're at "the turning point for the music industry." Yes, we are, but I don't think it's going where he thinks it is. (Read More) MySpace Music Blocks IndiesSeptember 20, 2008 -- Another of the RIAA's genius plans comes to fruition. After three of the "Big Four" labels went into joint ownership of MySpace Music, independent labels are unable to register their catalogs. Serious rumblings of antitrust have already begun. Music Cartel Launches Another 'Joint Venture'September 22, 2008 -- Confident the Senate is going to turn the Dept. O' Justice into RIAA employees, the cartel is teaming up for a series of joint ventures. Competing with each other is so tedious, you know. (Read More) Publishers Sell Out SongwritersSeptember 24, 2008 -- The headline at Wired says, Songwriters Submit Royalty Agreement to Copyright Royalty Board. What actually happened was the completion of a long-term plan to sacrifice songwriter royalties for the benefit of the RIAA. (Read More) Filtering -- RIAA's Kiss of DeathSeptember 25, 2008 -- Another lobbying group has been formed, because if there's one thing we need at this moment in time, it's another lobbying group. Their goal is Internet filtering. I don't think it's possible, but I'm all for anything that blocks the RIAA's illegal music from being shared. (Read More) RIAA's Only Trial Victory ErasedSeptember 25, 2008 -- Jammie Thomas gets a mistrial decision. It is once again accurate to say that out of the 30,000 to 40,000 cases they have filed, the RIAA has not won a single filesharing trial. Before I Was So Rudely Interrupted...October 4, 2008 -- Six years ago, I diverted this website from the random stuff I used to write about and focused it completely on music. I did not, however, intend to focus on the RIAA and I'd like to start heading back toward the original idea. (Read More) How to Download a SongOctober 7, 2008 -- I've been corresponding with a couple of old friends from high school, both of which recently claimed that they didn't know how to download music from the Internet. These guys are otherwise intelligent life-forms. They can use e-mail. So they're missing something obvious, and I'll bet they're not the only ones. (Read More) No Growth in 'Piracy' Since 1986October 11, 2008 -- According to the U.S. Dept. of Commerce and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the level of "intellectual property theft" in the United States has remained unchanged for 22 years. (Read More) The Infamous Contract RiderOctober 12, 2008 -- Contrary to popular belief, there is a perfectly logical reason for requesting a bowl of M&Ms with all the brown ones picked out. (Read More) An Unexpected AdventureOctober 20, 2008 -- While the idea of meeting an attractive woman and having her literally rip your clothes off within the first five minutes seems like a pretty awesome thing to have happen to you, especially in the middle of the week, it's kind of annoying when they hold you hostage for days. (Read More) iLike -- The 'Lost' ResponseOctober 21, 2008 -- Way back in December, 2006, Eliot Van Buskirk at Wired wrote an article about suddenly finding his music on iLike and trying to figure out how it got there. Finding Hayden's Wall had a page there as well, I added comments to the story. There was a response from iLike. Today was the first time I saw it. (Read More) Texas Tech Student Annoys RIAA; Demands TrialOctober 24, 2008 -- The good news -- Whitney Harper, a 20-year-old majoring in public relations at Texas Tech, was sued by the RIAA and is demanding a trial instead of paying the settlement. The bad news -- It's not because she has a clue. (Read More) Judge to RIAA: 'It's Terribly Critical That You Stop It'October 29, 2008 -- ZDNet reports that Prof. Charles Neeson of Harvard Law School "is charging that the RIAA's tactics are an abuse of federal process and that the law on which the litgation rests is unconstitutional." These arguments were in defense of Joel Tenenbaum, who is being sued for the outragously aggregious and anarchistic behavior of downloading seven entire songs when he was a teenager. (Read More) American Idol's Dark SideOctober 31, 2008 -- Jenn Hartmann is the only person I know that got close enough to American Idol to see the contract, which was enough to scare her off. Josiah Leming signed his and is discovering that even if you lose, Sony still owns you. Hell of a deal, eh? The Presidentiary ElectificationJust a few final thoughts before we plunge into the abyss. (Read More) New MP3 Logo Confuses BPINovember 6, 2008 -- Britain's version of the RIAA, in support of a logo indicating generic mp3 files: "This logo will not only help give consumers confidence that the music files they are buying will play on a wide range of devices, but will also help them know that they are legal and that artists are getting paid." WTF??? (Read More) Post-Election ResultsNovember 9, 2008 -- There's a group boycotting Fox News for being "far left." Some schools in Mississippi won't allow children to discuss Barack Obama outside of history class. Rich gay people are saying that, being second-class citizens and all, they aren't paying any more taxes for schools. That's just the beginning. (Read More) Death of Webcasting Highly SuspiciousNovember 11, 2008 -- Remember the big royalty agreement a couple of months ago that promised to be the death of webcasting? I was so amazed at the way the songwriters got shafted that I missed the odd part, namely that webcasting seems exempt from licensing. (Read More) Obama Transition Will Keep RIAA, MPAA At a DistanceNovember 12, 2008 -- As most of us are aware, the RIAA and MPAA are lobbying groups representing the recording and motion picture industries, respectively. Obama's Presidential Transition Team has announced its ethics rules, which say that lobbyists "are prohibited from working in the fields of policy on which they lobbied." Uh, oh! (Read More) When the Recording is Done, Then What?November 27, 2008 -- If you're following the story so far, you know that I recorded The Hurricane a couple of weeks ago. I've still got a lot of work ahead of me, but the band is pretty much done with their end of the project. It's time for them to figure out what they want to do with it when I'm done. (Read More) Warner's Deluded University 'Music Tax'December 5, 2008 -- Warner Music's Jim Griffin: "This is exactly the type of solution that several universities and their associations have been asking for." He says this while trying to act like Warner had nothing to do with the presentation that is being given to universities across the country. Griffin also doesn't want to hear any criticism. (Read More at TechDirt) An RIAA Christmas Gift to Transplant Patient
But what to our wondering eyes should appear, but RIAA lawyers, who are suing Ciara for pirating 10 songs. Because Ciara couldn't make it to the hearing, the RIAA took her circumstances into consideration and, in a magnanimous display of compassion and Christmas spirit, decided to settle for $10, the retail price of the "pirated" songs in question. Not really. In real life, the heartless bastards at the RIAA got a default judgment for $8,000. Sony Violates Child Privacy LawsDecember 12, 2008 -- The story is at Wired, which emphasizes Sony's intentional disregard for children's privacy. This is exactly the sort of concern for the public we have come to expect from Sony, which is why it gets the headline. Remember that the next time you hear the RIAA lecture about morals. But what caught my eye was at the end of the story. Sony has 1,100 different music sites instead of one giant one with everything. One explanation is that every artist has their own web site and Sony owns them all. This changes the perspective. With only 1,100 acts, Sony controls 25% of the global market share. EMI is still clinging to 7-9 percent on the strength of Coldplay alone. Of course, the entire market is half of what it used to be. Theoretically. There are hundreds of thousands of independent acts whose sales have never been counted. If they sold even 10 copies each, we're talking millions of record sales that never enter into the equation of what the market is. That needs to change. RIAA Seeks $1 Million for Sharing 7 SongsDecember 16, 2008 -- In today's news we have a blogger who actually knows that people are being sued for sharing, not downloading, which is a step up from CNN and most other sources. "Harvard Law School Professor Charles Nesson and his students will defend Rhode Island residents Arthur and Judie Tenenbaum from RIAA that is accusing their son Joel of sharing a total of 7 songs on Kazaa file sharing network. The damages Joel and his parents are facing could be more than $1 million." The RIAA has decided to "make an example" of the Tenenbaums. So far, they've ended up paying five- and six-figure attorney's fees to every other person they tried to make an example out of. This time, they're going to be greedy as well as incompetent and arrogant. They're gonna sue file sharers for $1 million each. But only the ones foolish enough to possess RIAA music and stupid enough to share it. The reason the RIAA feels the need to set an example at this point in time is because they're trying to convince the universities to pay them $5 per student per month to make this lawsuit stuff all go away. And some of the schools think it's a good idea. Not that they ever questioned the validity of the lawsuits in the first place. All the college kids getting sued were paying up anyway. The case is on pause until January and will probably drag out as long as the RIAA can possibly milk it for publicity before dropping it on the eve of a trial and writing a check to the Tenenbaums for $100,000 or so. To make an example. RIAA Gives Up on Lawsuits... to Be ISP NazisDecember 20, 2008 -- It's going to be pretty tough to out-stupid the lawsuits. But we can count on the RIAA to go that extra mile. From the Washington Post:
Proving that you violated a law that doesn't exist has gotten so tedious. The courts expect this thing called "evidence," and they refuse to let you collect fines just because someone is dead. Now the ISPs will let the RIAA be in charge of the Internet. No proof required. No annoying defense attorneys. It'll also solve the problem of critics and competition. "No Internet for You!" (Read More) Warner Music's Divine WisdomDecember 22, 2008 -- Elvis, the Beatles, Frank Sinatra, the Monkees, U2, Madonna, Hannah Montana, The Jonas Brothers -- It seems to me that most popular acts become popular by going through a period where you almost can't escape them. Warner Music has a new take on the star machine where you try to ensure no one can find your acts. (Read More) Ten Million Unsold Digital SongsDecember 23, 2008 -- If you finally achieved retail distribution this year but still didn't sell a single copy, well, you're not the only one. (Read More) In related news, iPhone Fart App Rakes in $10,000 a Day. Reader Mail -- Here's an Idea...December 25, 2008 -- Jason writes in to offer a solution to the RIAA problem, which turns out be not entirely novel, yet not without merit, either. (Read More) 2008 Year in ReviewDecember 26, 2008 -- In my little corner of the universe, the year seemed to have a recurring theme -- "an iTunes competitor that plans to offer music from all the majors for a $5-per-month subscription fee." (Read More) Developing a Better StrategyDecember 27, 2008 -- I want to talk about the 10 million "unsold" songs again from a slightly different perspective, namely that independents have a much greater advantage than I previously realized. (Read More) RIAA Beatdown May Be WebcastDecember 27, 2008 -- When the case of Sony v Tenenbaum resumes in January, we may get the pleasure of watching as Harvard Prof. Charles Nesson dissects the RIAA's lawyers and logic. Today's newsflash is that Nesson has filed a motion requesting the trial be broadcast on the Internet. This will allow him to use it for teaching purposes later in his law classes. The RIAA is the plaintiff, so they get to present their case first. This allows them to choose the specific order of topics, points of law, their evidence, their premise and their basic legal ability which Nesson will nail to the wall. There could be a whole semester of material in this. Microsoft's Really, Really Bad IdeaDecember 30, 2008 -- I dislike Microsoft almost as much as the RIAA, but Microsoft is scarier because when they have a bad idea, the company you work for will buy it immediately and you'll have to deal with it every day. Metered computing is next, the Big Brother you can believe in. (Read More) Bonus Update -- December 31 -- Every first generation 30GB Zune is dying today. Extra Bonus -- January 1, 2009 -- DRM killed the Zunes. The Sensitive Female Chord ProgressionDecember 31, 2008 -- "It's simple enough for the music theory-inclined: vi-IV-I-V. No good? Well, for a song in the key of A minor, it would be Am-F-C-G... The magic of the Sensitive Female Chord Progression lies in the way it can be played over and over and return smoothly to the first chord each time." Apparently, sensitive males can use it, too. (Story at Boston.com) |
December
8, 2008 -- Here's a touching holiday story. 19-year-old Ciara
Sauro, who lives near Pittsburgh, suffers from pancreitis and
needs an islet cell transplant. I'm not sure what exactly that
is, but the girl has to go to the hospital every week, which
sucks no matter what. Her Mom makes $8.25 an hour, so the medical
bills are piling up as Ciara waits for a donor.